Letter Writing

Analysis 
Task
: Write a thank you letter to the marae, following a school visit

Why task set: To teach letter-writing skills, a social skill (thanking people); recall of events and detail

Genre: Letter to someone not known personally; semi-formal	

Purpose in writing: To thank those who hosted the school's visit to the marae, and tell them what was enjoyed the most

Audience for writing: Marae hosts; teacher(s)	
	Expectations of the task	What the student can already do	Growth points	
Knowledge of the topic
(field knowledge)	Writing a letter to thank someone
Recall of details from marae visit
Background knowledge from school preparation for visit - protocol, etc	Appreciation shown for the nature of the visit, and recall of what was seen.
Some Maori vocabulary - moko, marae, hongi	Development of more complex and varied expressions of interest	
Structure of the text
(the schematic structure of the genre)	Address
Date
Form of address
Expression of thanks at the beginning
Details of what was memorable
Correct signing off	Correct structure used as per model	Write letters correctly without model
Learn to choose correct forms for self	
Language features
(linguistic choices e.g. person, conjunctions, processes, vocabulary)	Written in first person; references to second person
Past tense
Use of gerund (~ing) after expressions of thanking and enjoying, etc
Full form of verbs (no abbreviations)
Mr and Mrs (not Mrs and Mr)
Dear�
Yours sincerely with full name
Expression of personal interest and emotions	Correct persons used
Appropriate tense ("like" at end of Para 1 is a copying error; "liked" was used in draft)
Gerund used correctly after expressions of thanks, enjoyment, etc
Correct formation of different types of ~ing forms (telling, letting, exciting)
Correct expressions at beginning and end
Personal experiences expressed
"Yours sincerely" vs "Love from"; when to use surname	
Connectives insecure (see draft) - assisted to replace the second "marae" with "it"
Verb "to be" not always used - "it exciting"
Use of prepositions with some verbs e.g. "listen to" but not others e.g. "visit"
Practice with complex verb phrases - "letting us come"
Past tense not completely secure - "I am come from Korea"	
Writing processes
(planning, drafting, editing, proof-reading, joint/individual construction)	Practise ~ing forms (different patterns)
Practise "Thank you for ~ing" and "I liked ~ing" etc
Read similar letters; discuss layout and features
Plan what to thank for and remark on in correct form
Group construction of sample letter - check features and edit
Brainstorm other ideas to include in own letters
Draft own letter - double-spaced
Conference during and after writing - compare to models - edit with student input
Good copy
Check	Able to form ~ing correctly
Able to form these expressions correctly
Plenty of ideas for what could be included in her letter; sensible personal choices made when writing.
With leading questions, able to make most of the corrections herself
Some self-editing e.g. "fun" to "exciting" - she decided the latter was more appropriate without teacher input	Less teacher guidance in the process next time	
Presentation and accuracy
(spelling, handwriting, title page, headings, punctuation, illustrations/diagrams, typed, bound)	Correct letter layout - left justified
Line spacing between sections
Appropriate paragraphing
Neat legible handwriting
Correct spelling
Capital letters and full stops
Optional illustration	Mostly correct layout
Accurate spacing
Neat handwriting
Correct spelling
Capital letters and full stops seem secure	Signing off to be left justified
Paragraphing - may have been better to have one "thank you" paragraph and one "personal reflection" paragraph